Ranji Trophy: Khare’s patient knock keeps Chhattisgarh in the hunt

Amandeep Khare’s patience and problem-solving skills helped Chhattisgarh close in on a crucial first-innings lead over Andhra on the second day of their Ranji Trophy Elite Group B fixture at the DVR Ground on Tuesday.

Khare remained unbeaten on 74 (171b, 7x4) to take Chhattisgarh to 216 for eight, just 15 runs behind Andhra’s total, before the skies darkened as Cyclone Arnab approached the interiors of Andhra Pradesh. Windy conditions prevailed throughout the day while the Chhattisgarh batters also negotiated a disciplined Andhra bowling attack.

Khare, having come out at No. 4, showed conviction in his defence, but the team also needed him to keep the scoreboard ticking. The Andhra spinners mostly operated with seven fielders on the off-side, asking Khare and the rest to play across the line.

But Chhattisgarh was in no mood to take risks. It showed a willingness to bat time and wait for the bad balls, which, for a long time, did not come. Khare stayed back and switched between a middle-stump and leg-stump guard, trying to find angles on the off-side. When the spinners occasionally pitched on the leg stump, he pushed the ball towards the on-side.

He added 32 runs with captain Anuj Tiwary and 27 with Rahul Pradhan before stitching together a 56-run stand off 151 deliveries with Ajay Mandal, who adopted a similar approach. The Andhra bowlers, led by T. Vijay’s three for 73, kept reaping the rewards for their consistency and discipline in bowling to their fields.

Mandal’s dismissal against pacer K.V. Sasikanth, followed by Jayant Yadav’s wicket off Lalith Mohan, meant Chhattisgarh still trailed by 42 runs with only three wickets in hand. Khare continued to resist the temptation to take on the bowling.

Before Chhattisgarh could attempt to take the lead, the umpires called stumps.

The scores:

Andhra — 1st innings: 231.

Chhattisgarh — 1st innings: Ayush Pandey run out 13, Anuj Tiwary c Mohan b Vijay 34, Mayank Verma lbw b Saurabh 20, Amandeep Khare (batting) 74, Vikalp Tiwari c Sasikanth b Vijay 4, Rahul Pradhan c Revanth b Saurabh 11, Ajay Mandal c Revanth b Sasikanth 29, Jayant Yadav c Revanth b Mohan 4, Dharmendrasinh Jadeja c Rahul b Vijay 3, Dev Aditya Singh (batting) 5; Extras (b-8, lb-9, nb-2): 19; Total (for eight wkts. in 95 overs): 216.

Fall of wickets: 1-14, 2-59, 3-91, 4-95, 5-122, 6-178, 7-189, 8-205.

Andhra bowling: Saurabh 39-9-74-2, Vijay 26-5-73-3, Mohan 24-5-36-1, Hemanth 2-0-7-0, Sasikanth 3-1-7-1, Rahul 1-0-2-0.